1971 Chevy C10 Black Green - Big Timer

Prepare Yourself For The Party

This truck was designed to stand out in a crowd and make onlookers drop their jaws. On the ground, tuckin' 24s, smoothed from front to back, and an interior that must be seen in person to fully be appreciated, this truck defines big time. Big James DeMouy understood and accepted the challenge to build a truck that would separate himself from the cookie-cutter C10s. With several tricks up his XXL sleeve, we just hope you're ready for the classic-truck party.

It's no big surprise that '67-'72 Chevy C10s popularity has exploded recently, with their smooth lines, sweet proportions, and steel panels, the truck basically asks to be customized. Big James answered that call with a '71 of his own. Starting with the frame and suspension, Daryl Smith Z'd the factory frame and then boxed it, creating a strong foundation. Up front, AIM spindles were bolted onto the AIM upper and lower drop A-arms to get the nose nice and low. Bringing the nose onto the ground are Slam Specialties airbags, controlled by GC450 valves; a 1/2-inch air line, and two Air-Zenith compressors. Out back, a two-link with a Panhard bar keeps things parallel, while Slam Specialties airbags and GC450 valves brought the bed down. Chrome AIM shocks, both front and rear, allow the truck to cruise with a smooth ride. Under each fender are 24x10 Incubus wheels. Wheels that big, on a truck this low, meant tires needed to be low-profile enough but strong enough to meet the load rating, so Toyo Proxes 275/30R24 tires were mounted to each hoop. The look is killer. Stopping the truck is cross-drilled and slotted rotors from Summit. Once all the fitment issues were cleared up, the entire frame was painted black and the suspension pieces received antifreeze green paint. Rollin' low, Big James wanted to make sure he could go with the best of them, and that meant a trip to The Wop Shop in Houston.

While under the watchful care of The Wop Shop, the crew stripped down an '80 Chevy 350ci V-8 and gave it the once-over. After a bore increase and crank swap, the Bow Tie block was stroked to 383ci with 10:1 compression, a Comp Cams camshaft, and aluminum Dart heads. The engine roars to life, courtesy of four Kinetik batteries juicing an MSD distributor, MSD coil, and Taylor plug wires. That roar comes from 3-1/2-inch MagnaFlow mufflers and Hedman Headers. Dress-up items include Billet Specialties air cleaner, valve covers, and pulleys. A Turbo 400 tranny with a B&M shift kit keeps the shifts brisk and the '96 Impala rear end with a Summit 3.73 gear set spinning those huge rear wheels. Now that he was rollin' low and fast, Big James moved on to the body where he knew something drastic was in order.

Arriving at S&S Auto in Alvin, Texas, the 37-year-old sheetmetal was given a thorough massage. Gone for good are the door handles, driprails, hood cowl, tailgate, and taillights. Up front, the crew at S&S added a roll pan and Carriage Works billet grille. Out back, a Grant Kustoms roll pan and tailgate skin were added, along with Precision Rods Rare LEDs flushed into the top of the cab. A full sheetmetal bed was fabricated, along with a tear-drop gas filler inside the bed walls. The doors were given the suicide treatment and the cab/body was cut 6 inches to bring the rockers on the ground, thanks to Daryl Smith's welder. S&S Auto then straightened the body out and applied the House of Kolor Black Diamond and antifreeze green to each panel. Pat Reed then stepped in and laid out the tribal graphics in sliver and red. Skulls were airbrushed into the red to give the four colors some real attitude. Now Big James had himself a looker, but he needed an insane interior to really make his cover truck stand out.

Tin Shack Kustoms, in Alvin, Texas, was the one shop where Big James felt comfortable and confident that his interior would be insane. Right off the bat, Mike Henderson the owner of Tin Shack removed everything-and we mean everything-from the interior and started with a bare cab shell. Up first, the '71 was converted to right hand drive, via a Borgeson & Mullins RHD steering box. Mike then installed a Billet Specialties polished steering column and capped with a Colorado Custom flame steering wheel. With the steering location figured out, Mike went wood-working crazy by creating a dash, piece-by-piece out of wood, reinforcing it with foam, and finishing the layout with fiberglass. The huge one-piece dash was modeled after the early '60's dash design. It features custom gauge housings for the Auto Meter gauges and was airbrushed by Pat Reed. Mike continued the custom interior by creating a large one-piece seat/sub enclosure/back wall in the truck. The seats were literally built into the back wall. The sub enclosure was built like the dash, out of wood and fiberglass, and houses the four JBL 10-inch subs. Custom kick panels were created and house the 6-1/2-inch JBL components. The system is powered by two JBL 1000.1 amps and two JBL 600.1 amps mounted in the fiberglass headliner. An Alpine IDA-X001 head unit sends the signals, thanks to Scosche wires and cables. Graphite leather was applied to the seats, thanks to Robbie's Customs, which is also in Alvin. Big James has himself a wild ride. This truck means business when it pulls up to any show across the country. James was quick to thank his sponsors and his family who supported him throughout the build. Now that the truck is done, isn't it 5 o'clock somewhere?